Page 79 of Robb

But there was nothing she could do right now, except try to gather more intel. Robb had seemed pretty pessimistic about Liam’s chances of being able to make contact with his team, but Tahnee had spent her whole life playing the odds – and low odds didn’t mean no odds.

If it did, she wouldn’t be here talking to Robb right now.

“Did she drop any hints as to whereabouts in Victoria this dragon is?” she asked.

Robb’s head was lolling a little, his consciousness clearly fading, but he pulled himself back upright.

“No,” he said, his voice sounding thick and almost slurred. “Though I think it’s somewhere where there’s already a lot of gold.”

That makes sense.

“Hmm,” she said. “Ballarat, maybe? Or at least somewhere out in that general direction. Lots of gold mines out that part of the country.”

Robb’s head moved in what was probably a nod. “That was my thought as well.”

“Great,” she said, trying to inject some positivity into her voice. “I haven’t been to Sovereign Hill since I was a kid – it’ll be fun to go back. Though for me, panning for gold always lacked a bit of the thrill that it probably held for the other kids.”

Robb choked out a laugh. “As long as we don’t have to dress up as Gold Rush era prospectors.”

“I’m not making any promises, mister,” she said, but she was smiling. It was good to hear him laughing.

We’re going to make it. We’re going to defeat Hargreaves and keep the dragon safely asleep, and then we’re going to go somewhere quiet and not let anyone else disturb us for at least a month.

She had to believe it. Believing in herself had gotten her a long way in life, even when circumstances had seemed impossible.

Looking over Robb’s bruised, venom-burned face, she found a spot on his temple that was relatively unaffected – and then, balancing carefully with her bound arms, she leaned over and brushed her lips gently against his skin.

The mate bond glowed softly, something more gentle than it had been on that first night together, and Robb seemed to sigh a little, relaxing down into the chair.

Just hang on, Robb, she thought. We’ll get you out of here. And then I’m not letting go of you for a very, very long time.

Turning to the door of the room, she called out, “Hey! Are you going to come back in here or what?”

She had to assume that even if there was no one right outside the door, the room itself was being monitored – and sure enough, a few moments later the door opened once more.

“Ms. Harris,” Anne said, and Tahnee bristled at just how much Hargreaves knew about her. She’d made a point of keeping herself mysterious, in order to protect the sanctuary.

Anne looked her up and down, giving her a brisk once-over that made Tahnee feel strangely exposed.

“Are you going to work with us?” she asked. “Or must I demonstrate the seriousness of my intent once more? Your mate isn’t looking very well.”

Tahnee forced a pained smile onto her face. “I’m not making any promises,” she said. “But I’ll go with you… so long as you give Robb the antivenom.”

She had no intention of cooperating, and she knew that Anne was aware of it as well. But she was willing to play along with the charade for now, to find out more about where the dragon was and what Hargreaves were planning. And if they could get out of the city, it might be easier for Liam or the Agency to rescue them, provided they were able to get away from the destruction at the Sydney office.

And I just need to give them all as much time as I can, without anyone getting poisoned any more than they already are.

If nothing else, she was willing to play pretend in order to get the antidote for Robb.

Anne huffed a small sigh. “I suppose he’s not much good to me dead at this point,” she said, and made a beckoning motion without looking away from Tahnee, while Tahnee bristled.

One of the thugs came forward with a syringe, and, without preamble, stuck it into Robb’s arm.

Robb gasped a little, and Tahnee watched closely, hoping that she hadn’t somehow made things worse.

Come on, Robbo, she urged. Perk up already, so I can stop worrying.

Slowly, the worst of the venom burns started to heal up, and the skin beneath regained some of its usual color. His head lifted, his breathing becoming less labored.